You Had Me at Cage Match (Repost)
July 15, 2004 was a Friday. I know this because it’s the first memory I have of professional wrestling.
It was Smackdown, at the time airing on UPN, Channel 5 in Detroit. I had seen wrestling previously, but as a 10-12 year old kid, my parents were not super into the idea of me watching wrestling, especially coming out of the Attitude Era. I already had Power Rangers banned due to my desire to try fighting my sister with the moves I’d learned watching the Rangers take on Lord Zedd.
I’d flip through the channels on cable and come across RAW or Smackdown. If my parents were nearby, I’d quickly change the channel, but if they weren’t around, I’d watch it with volume on low until I heard them coming by. Luckily, on this night, I never had to change the channel and I stayed up, watching the show start to finish.
This was my first time seeing guys like Rey Mysterio Jr., Paul London and Billy Kidman. I remember instantly being a fan of Mysterio, despite the match ending after 5 mins from DQ. Everything I had seen up until the main event had gotten my interest but the final match is what led to me being here today, writing a blog about wrestling and developing a podcast about it as well.
Eddie Guerrero vs John Bradshaw Layfield (better known as JBL) in a Steel Cage Match. Source: WWE.com
I didn’t have context for the match other than what was provided in the pre-match video packages. I didn’t need it though. As a young kid, the cage was interesting enough for me. Watching the match, I quickly learned why people loved Eddie. Despite his theme song bragging about how loves to “lie, cheat & steal,” he had an aura that commanded your attention and admiration, even when playing the worst of characters. Towards the end of the match, Eddie climbed up on the cage, with an opportunity to escape and win. Instead, he pumped his chest with his arms, launched off the top of the cage and hit a frog splash on Layfield. I was mesmerized.
The match ended when Eddie, once again tried to escape, but a luchadore attacked Eddie, allowing Layfield to escape. Seeking revenge,Eddie tore off the intruder’s mask, revealing it was then “injured” GM, Kurt Angle, who screwed Eddie.
I hated Kurt Angle for this. I hated JBL. Honestly, if I met JBL today, I probably would still resent him for it. But I’m also grateful. I’m grateful that JBL played such a believable bad guy. I’m grateful that JBL and Kurt Angle helped get me invested in the product and Eddie Guerrero (writer’s note: I’ll write a lot more about Eddie in the future).
July 15th, 2004 led me down a path of loving wrestling that is probably stronger today than it has ever been. I fell off for a few years in high school when I thought I was too cool for it but when I went back to it, I dove in and never looked back. My old tinder bio simply said “I hope you can tolerate my love of pro wrestling.” I’ve made long lasting friendships and relationships from pro wrestling, including with the two other co-founders of this site. I have friends in Texas that I met through a FB wrestling group chat that started with my cousin. A good portion of the meaningful bonds I’ve created in my adulthood has a direct tie to professional wrestling.
The common joke you hear as a wrestling fan is, “You know it’s fake, right?” The easy response is, “So is Game of Thrones or whatever you love.” But really, who cares? The scripted nature of pro wrestling is part of the allure. Wrestling is great because of the moments that make me forget it’s not real. Moments like when I was 12 years old, watching Kurt Angle get fired for screwing my first ever favorite wrestler out of a title or when Kevin Owens turned on his best friend Sami Zayn the night he won the NXT Title or even most recently when Hangman Adam Page lost his chance to face Kenny Omega at All Out after a 5v5 eliminator match. I love pro wrestling because it’s the most unique form of storytelling I’ve ever experienced.
Pro wrestling is theater, improv and Cirque du Soleil all at once. Wrestlers work together with their opponent to tell a compelling story live in front of viewers, unlike MMA where the goal is to turn your opponent’s brain off. A wrestler won’t lose their job from tapping out at the company’s big ppv. Watching your favorite star get “put over” by an aging star is the ultimate passing of the torch moment that you don’t see in other sports or entertainment (I’m keeping those words separated for a reason!).
If you ask me what I love about pro wrestling, the answer will be different every time because there is so much to love, but this blog is a pretty good summary. If I have children in the future, I will do my best to pass on a passion for wrestling to them. But even if they aren’t as interested, I hope they find something to love as much as I love professional wrestling.
